Corporate sportainment events like the Hercules Trophy help build strong employer brands. They allow employees to have fun competing with colleagues while representing their company. Participants bond through shared emotional experiences. Companies use these festivals to express their culture and values to attract top talent. While the founders of Hercules Trophy did not initially intend for it to be an organizational tool, feedback showed it supported employer branding, employee engagement, networking, and doing good in the community. A strong employer brand leads to higher employee engagement and satisfaction, better client services, increased business and profits.

1. Corporate Sportainment
and its effect on your Brand
At Herculean, the holding company
of all Hercules Trophies worldwide,
we tend to believe in all modesty
that we invented Corporate
Sportainment back in 1999. That’s
the year when we organized the first
edition of the Hercules Trophy in
Building a strong employer brand Belgium.
Is there a link between sportainment and the employer brand? How can HR Back in 1999 we had no idea that
Hercules Trophy was going to be a
managers and marketers in your organization use sport and entertainment as a
raving success in Belgium – and
way to give a positive impression of your company as a place to work? most definitely not all over the
world. At first, we thought the
This document will demonstrate how corporate sportainment has a direct reason for this success was to be
found in the amazing team building
positive effect on employer and company branding. In today’s war on talent, effect. After further investigation, we
acquisition professionals realize how a strong employer brand can have a real came up with our theory on
emotional resonance.
impact on whether or not potential candidates are interested in working in your
organization. To be honest: we never had the
intention to design an event with a
Corporate sportainment as a means to express your culture, environment, huge corporate impact. We just
wanted to have fun while organizing
values and strategic vision helps your company to build a strong and a fabulous sports day with other
differentiated employer brand and will help you attract and retain top tier business professionals.
talent around the globe.
And that’s what we are still doing,
but it became so much more…

2. Sportainment. Entertainment. Festivals
The origins of Sportainment Festivals: the 4 drivers
Sportainment obviously derives from a fusion of the 2 Scientists who studied the social aspect of music
words Sports and Entertainment. Uniting both terms Festivals have identified 4 drivers to participate in a
festival:
isn’t new as the word was first used about 15 years ago
describing the “razzmatazz” typically used in American  Escape
sport events with e.g. rock bands at major events like the  Socialization
Super-Bowl. Using active sportainment however as a way
 Togetherness
to unite business professionals is rather new and is a
 Novelty
very interesting trend to watch. It seamlessly integrates in
(summary from Harry van Vliet -“Festivalbeleving” University
the new corporate wellness programs elaborated by a lot
Utrecht, The Netherlands)
of companies.
If festivals manage to combine those drivers with the
Role of festivals specific DNA of a Festival, they become successful.
The FestivalDNA is the unique combination of all its
Let’s have a closer look at Festivals and their role in social
components. And that’s why it’s impossible to copy
life. Festivals, of many types, serve to meet specific
festivals. You can try to copy, but people will always
needs (in our case team sport), as well as to provide
say that every festival is “different”. Rock Werchter
entertainment. These times of celebration offer a sense
is different from Glastonbury. Both are successful,
of belonging for specific groups, in casu business
but different. If you ask the fans why, they would
professionals. Modern festivals that focus on cultural or
mainly talk about the “vibes”, the atmosphere, not
ethnic topics seek to inform members of their traditions.
about the features.
In past times, festivals were times when the elderly
shared stories and transferred certain knowledge to the Hercules Trophy is also a unique kind of festival. A
next generation. Historic feasts often provided a means festival of (team) sports, networking, competition,
for unity among families and for people to find mates. music and entertainment for participants, spectators
and families. Everyone who has been at Hercules
Trophy goes back with a lot of positive energy and
lifetime stories to tell.

3. People who laugh together work together
LinkedIn study: key
findings
A strong overall company brand
certainly helps with attracting
talent. It stands to reason that if
people admire your brand, they’re
more likely to be aware of your
company as an employer and
potentially think it would be a
good place to work.
Overall brand impacts job
consideration, though not as much
as you might think. Thinking
Investing in entertainment (or in this As a result, any investment going into favorably of a company isn’t the
same as genuinely wanting to work
case more specifically sportainment) employees was capital that wasn’t there.
for employees has a direct impact on allocated to investors.
employee satisfaction within an A strong employer brand – as
That has changed dramatically, hasn’t indicated by an individual having a
organization. Recently, in the aftermath positive impression of your
it? company as a place to work – is
of the recent financial and economic
twice as likely to be linked to job
recession, employee satisfaction has A 2010 report by Hewitt Associates consideration as a strong company
received more attention from decision brand.
found that companies with high levels
makers. of engagement (65% or greater) A strong employer brand is
outperformed the total stock market especially critical for attracting
When we talk to CEO’s, Marketing more junior employees,
Directors and HR professionals from all index and posted shareholder returns candidates from younger
19% higher than the average in 2009. demographics, and those outside
over the world, we experience that the the country.
Companies with disinterested
overall business mentality has shifted
employees on the other hand (40% or (Study performed in March 2012 by
from the classic “shareholders first” to
less engagement), had a total LinkedIn’s Hiring Solutions Insight
an “employees first” attitude. Team amongst 7,250 members
shareholder return that was 44%(!) worldwide.)
As Robert Reich points out: “Your most lower than the broader market.
precious possession is not your
financial assets. Your most precious
possession is the people you have
working there, and what they carry
around in their heads, and their ability Our beliefs
to work together.”
There is a “natural” order in priorities
More than one hundred years ago, When new trends occur, we take a step back and look at it from a broader
perspective. Why does this all of a sudden become so important and what else
consumers demanded standardized stays important? We believe you should always start from the company
products. The products were produced stakeholders when looking at company decisions. It’s about finding the right
balance and order between all stakeholders. At Herculean, we believe in the
by unskilled laborers performing
following stakeholder order when it comes to running a successful business:
repetitive tasks. Thus the impact of an
employee leaving the company wasn’t 1.Happy employees believing in the company
2.Produce awesome customer experiences, that generate profit
high. It was more a matter of body 3.Of which part should be given back to society
replacement. 4.And all this will eventually create shareholder value in the long run.

4. Festival of Corporate Sports
To understand how Hercules Trophy Trophy were the following:
Emotional Resonance
became an authority in the subject of
 Corporate Branding When people are all on the same
Employer Branding and organizational
frequency, they can surpass their
behavior, we need to elaborate a little  Employer Branding wildest dreams. In physics this is
on how our brand evolved. described as “resonance”
 do some good in the world (Galileo Galilei).
Since we started the Hercules Trophy
 informal networking with The resonance between Hercules
in 1999, we gradually came to the other market players Trophy participants enables
conclusion that companies didn’t only unique bonding experiences.
 have fun with like-minded That’s why people experience an
participate for the teambuilding effect, explosion of emotions during and
people, families and spectators
but used our event for other purposes. after the event. They go back with
included. the feeling that they did something
extraordinary that day and that
At Hercules Trophy we offer business Our customers started using our they found new soul mates.
people a platform, where they can be platform as a Festival of Corporate
the Star of the day, whatever their Sport – as Corporate Sportainment. We
cultural background or level of fitness. listened to what our audience wanted
and never stopped innovating the
From the continuous feedback we platform. Isn’t that how great
learnt that the main drivers for companies grow: by responding to
organizations to join the Hercules
their employees and their customers?
We certainly think so!

5. Ceci n’est pas un
teambuilding
When we created Hercules
Trophy, we never thought of using
it as an organizational tool. Even
though it wasn’t our initial
intention, we must conclude that
Hercules Trophy supports
organizations in all aspects
mentioned in this document.
Employees experience the best
day of the year. Their happiness
factor increases by doing sports
with colleagues. They are grateful
towards their employer for getting
this opportunity. They represent
Employer brand equation: strikingly simple their company with pride against
other market players and
customers. Stronger inter-personal
relationships are created.
A strong employer brand = more highly engaged employees =
Some companies take it one step
better service to clients = more satisfied clients = more business further and become sponsor of the
and more referrals = bigger bottom line. event. They consider it to be the
most efficient way to connect the
brand to business people.
Spectators join the event and
Make no mistake: your performance is only as good as your people. We
involve the family with the
believe that before the economic recession, a lot of companies had other corporate brand.
priorities. To put it bluntly:
Last but not least: the participants
give back through the Herculix
1. Shareholders need short term, unrealistic returns. Foundation to charity which makes
them proud again.
2. Therefor companies tried to sell as much as possible, quarter after
quarter, in order to show growth and please shareholders. Regardless And all this on just one day, that’s
Sportainment of the future.
of quality. No matter what the effect is on customer relationships.
3. To maximize profits further, cost cuts are crucial. Employees and
suppliers are the biggest costs, so let’s cut there.
4. “Giving back to society is an interesting way to avoid taxes and to do
cheap marketing”.
We all know how that turned out, right? You don’t need a degree in rocket
science to understand why employer brand has become strategic: after the
recession most companies have realized that employees come first, not
shareholders. They had forgotten that during the crazy years.
Let’s not forget that ever again – ever.
Herculean cvba
www.herculestrophy.com
info@herculestrophy.com
All rights reserved, 2013